Global Warming…Is it real?

Global warming has been a hot debate over the past decade and has gained increase interest during this years past election due to differing view points on the subject. Additionally, Hollywood seems to come out with a world ending environmental destruction movie every six months that re-sparks the controversy and debate.

People are obviously very sensitive to this topic because it’s affects can be life threatening, or at least that’s what the movies are saying. Nonetheless the degradation of the environment is something many are opposed to and for very understandable reasons. Many people want future generations to have the same oppertunities as they did, and don’t want to leave them with a deteriorating environment.

So what can we do? Well the consensus is that greenhouse gasses such as carbon dioxide are hanging out in the ozone and trapping heat, causing an increase in the earth’s temperatures. So there is a big push by the mainstream to reduce carbon emissions by having people carpool, ride bikes and perhaps even tax people and countries for their carbon emissions.

Industries are being pressured to improve their efficiency and reduce their emissions by retrofitting old factories and power plants, as well as pressured to build new low emission factories.

For developing countries that have not reached the technical sophistication of the United States and other developed countries, and are still playing catch up in a lot of ways are more reluctant to spend money on improving their infrastructure. Since they do not feel they have had the same opportunity to create wealth from some of these same technologies (coal power plants) which the United States has exploited for centuries.

Participation between all countries will be key if we are going to create a world that is less reliant on carbon emissions.

While some argue that it is all human activity contributing to global warming, others disagree.

Some people believe that global warming is a natural ebb and flow that the earth has gone through over millennia and part of the many ice ages the earth has seen over it’s lifetime. They contend that nature itself is actually the biggest emitter of carbon dioxide through volcanic eruptions, and that nothing we did could contend with the magnitude of nature.

While volcanic eruptions do produce an enormous amount of carbon dioxide, many believe that blaming global warming on earth is a cop out. In fact many have charted that human CO2 production far surpasses natures output with volcanoes.

Despite anyone’s beliefs about global warming, their are enough other reasons to believe that humans are negatively effecting the planet. Water quality, air quality, and food quality have all been threatened by human activity globally and their are many metrics by which to measure this. Whether people believe global weather is a relevant way to measure human effects on the planet is irrelevant, there are enough other tools by which to measure human effects on the planet that clearly outline the negative impact humans are having on the planet.